As the internet continues to vibrate from Batman: The Animated Series voice actor Kevin Conroy’s “actually he’s been out for years” coming out, we can’t help but giggle. It never ceases to amaze us when straight people can’t quite wrap their heads around an actor or character they love being queer.
Of course, radical gayness and all associated fabulousness are nothing new for the Bat-verse. Just look at the 1960s TV incarnation of the character–possibly the single campiest show to ever grace the small screen. It included some of the most iconic incarnations of Batman’s gallery of rogues, played by some of the leading LGBTQ actors of their day.
Don’t believe us? Don’t change the Bat-channel…
Cesar Romero
Go figure that it took a self-described “confirmed bachelor” to bring the Clown Prince of Crime to life. Long before a litany of Oscar winners would don the ruby lips and green hair, Romero brought The Joker to the screen with an appropriate dash of drag queen panache. All his performance needs is a lip-sync to a Judy Garland number to get us tossing dollar bills at the screen.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Victor Buono
OK, so King Tut generally isn’t regarded as one of Batman’s best villains. Still, Buono, a man who, in his words, never “found the right girl” just like “Monty Clift or Sal Mineo,” managed to make the character a lot of fun. He also died too young–only 43–so seeing him have so much fun in a role always makes us smile.
Vincent Price
Price, who played Egghead on the show, caused one of Batman‘s most infamous on-set incidents when he started a fight… using prop raw eggs as ammunition. Though the actor married a number of women in his career (including notorious bisexual Coral Browne), his daughter Victoria confirmed that her dear old dad had numerous relationships with other men, and was not ashamed.
Tallulah Bankhead
Bankhead allegedly told the producers of Batman “Don’t talk to me about camp, darling. I invented it” while filming her episodes as the villainess Black Widow. She had a point. Besides her love of all things campy, the actress indulged in a proudly hedonistic lifestyle having numerous affairs with both men and women. Biographers claim she counted Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Hattie McDaniel, and Billie Holiday among her lovers.
Lesley Gore
The iconic songstress behind “It’s My Party,” “The Look of Love” and “Wedding Bell Blues” tried her hand at acting as Catwoman’s (Julie Newmar) sidekick Pussycat. Go figure that decades later, the comic writers would reveal that Catwoman herself was bisexual and had an affair with a female sidekick. We like to think that had something to do with Ms. Gore.
Roger C. Carmel
1960s TV fixture Roger C. Carmel stepped into the role of Col. Gumm, a villain created for the Batman series in his crossover episode with The Green Hornet & Kato (Van Williams and Bruce Lee, respectively). Carmel always kept his personal life quite private, as he struggled with mental illness and, according to close friends, was also gay. Maybe it’s time DC Comics revived the character of Col. Gumm as a gay schemer?
Liberace
Yes, the patron saint of Classic Hollywood Closet Cases actually turned up on Batman… fittingly as Fingers, a rogue pianist. In a more shocking twist, given that Liberace wasn’t known for his acting skills, Fingers was actually revealed as a pair of twin brothers, Chandell and Harry. Characteristically, they both shared Liberace’s real-life penchant for flamboyance.
Roddy McDowall
Technically, McDowall pulled off this feat twice: once here, appearing as the bookish fiend Bookworm, and again in Batman: The Animated Series where he voiced the villain Mad Hatter. Roddy never really hid his sexuality–he was known for his beach parties chock full of gay celebs, along with gay icons such as Julie Andrews, Judy Garland, and Natalie Wood in attendance. That said, he lived a very private, quiet life and shied away from the public eye. Of all the celebs here, we wish we could have hit the beach with him the most.
Ethel Merman (?)
Riddle us this, readers. If someone is a gay icon and the constant source of queer romance rumors, does she deserve a spot here? Yes, Ethel Merman guested on Batman too, as Penguin’s childhood friend Lola Lasagne, a villain created for the show. Whispers of bisexuality swirled around the stage great during her lifetime, in particular, scuttlebutt of an alleged affair with Valley of the Dolls novelist Jacqueline Susann. History has yet to confirm or deny the said romance, so we’ll just leave this here as Lasagne for thought. As it were.
Incidentally, Batman streams on Amazon, Tubi, and YouTube.
Dijonaise
The stories about the attempts to reign in Robin’s package are legendary!
Herman75
Was there some sexual tension each time Batman came to the rescue, finding Robin tied up with rope, facing peril, even death? One might imagine Robin entering the bat cave afterwards.
BennyTheHill
I’m surprised that Queerty featured in this article Cesar Romero (a devout defender of homophobic Catholicism and a conservative Republican), Vincent Price (an adult convert to homophobic Catholicism), Liberace (who was a devout defender of homophobic Catholicism and who always denied being gay), and Ethel Merman (a very conservative Republican who endorsed Eisenhower, Goldwater, Nixon, Ford, and Reagan).
white-queer-african
As I have already posted on a previous article about the fabulous family afternoon we’ve had here on the east coast of South Africa, I shall not repeat myself. Unlike some troll we all know that is stuck on copy / paste.
LOL.LOL.LOL.
tommyboy5023
What better way to hide gayness or bi-ness than be an in name only Catholic. Frank Gorshans Riddler always seemed to delight in keeping Robin bound for scene after scene. He was the villain in the episode where Burt Ward played himself and Jill St John dressed as him.
Eternal.Cowboy
You know that feeling you get when somebody embarrasses themselves so badly YOU feel uncomfortable? Read BennyTheHill’s attempt at trolling? Jesus Christ! I can’t imagine being so bad at something and insisting doing it publicly.
BennyTheHill
white-queer-african:
You live on the continent of Africa, right?
Now go gather some more leaves so you can wipe yourself after you defecate.
BennyTheHill
tommyboy5023:
They were: “in name only Catholic.”
How do you know that?
You hobnobbed with them decades ago???
I doubt it.
LOL!!!
🙂
BennyTheHill
Eternal.Cowboy:
Your insights are brilliant. NOT!
I love triggering you and the other morons here.
LOL!!!
🙂
wikidBSTN
Uhhhm – NEWSFLASH – There are lots of gay Catholics, gay Republicans, gay conservatives and gay homophobes. Do you live under a rock?
Eternal.Cowboy
Still struggling on the trolling.
Keep trying, maybe you will get there.
Bromancer7
It’s almost as if you have no idea that gay men have been hiding in Catholicism for centuries.
mailliw110
There are gay Republicans! SHOCKING!!!
jaimedance3
I have been blessed where I had the pleasure in writing to many MANY of the guest villains and villainess of this show getting many to reply back with actual signed photos, letters and Christmas cards. Even meeting up with many where I am still in touch with the ones that are still living! I even stayed in touch with Francine York who was Roddy McDowall’s moll Lydia Limpet for many years until she passed away in 2017. I even have a great story about Victor Buono from actor Sid Haig when I met him. And I’m still friends with Christopher Riordan who was one of Julie Newmar’s henchmen who is also gay. And you need to read Merv Griffin’s book where they were having a party at Merv’s house one night and Desi Arnaz was in the bedroom trying to sleep. The noise woke him up where he came out of the bedroom and said if you silly queens are going to keep me up one of you better come in here and blow me to which Caesar Romero got up and went into the bedroom with Desi Arnaz!
BennyTheHill
jaimedance3:
“And you need to read Merv Griffin’s book where they were having a party at Merv’s house one night and Desi Arnaz was in the bedroom trying to sleep. The noise woke him up where he came out of the bedroom and said if you silly queens are going to keep me up one of you better come in here and blow me to which Caesar Romero got up and went into the bedroom with Desi Arnaz!”
And you believe that? I have a very nice bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Interested?
storm45701
Dude, he’s mentioning a story Merv Griffin told in his autobiography. Griffin had no need to lie and/or risk lawsuit from the Arnaz family. Sexual fluidity is nothing new.
BennyTheHill
storm45701:
You are wrong. Griffin NEVER wrote an autobiography. And – if he was gay – he was very much in the closet, so I doubt he’d invite all of those gays overnight to his home. By the way, Griffin was also a very conservative Republican – he said so in a Larry King interview in 2003 and said he was voting for George Bush, the supporter of a Constitutional Amendment which would criminalize gay marriage.
Are you that dumb???
The book this guy refers to was an UNAUTHORIZED biography AFTER the Griffin died. No one is alive to refute this silly assertion: Cesar Romero and Desi Arnez both died decades before the book was written.
After a liberal celebrity passes – some like Rob Reiner – a writer could claim that he raped little girls. Would that make the story credible, especially if it’s found in an UNAUTHORIZED biography???
I think not!
Mack
Love that show when I was young. Had a major crush on Robin and kept trying to see what he was hiding.
Tombear
I had sexual fantasies about Adam West and Burt Ward all the time when I was 12. Next to a shirtless Robert Conrad from the Wild Wild West I had a wonderful fantasy life!
Inspector 57
I watched those shows as foreplay. Then I’d tune into Rifleman and go finish myself off.
Karlis
I had such a crush on Robin when I was a kid. It was only later that I realized that Burt Ward couldn’t act his way out of a paper sack, but he sure did look good in those tights.
Wango_Mango
I grew up watching this show and for some reason was more interested in sharing a sleeping bag with Batman, instead of the annoying Robin. That fascination evaporated when I saw Batman do his Bat Dance, however. ?
MacAdvisor
In case any of you were wondering, “Where have I seen him?” Roger C. Carmel achieved immorality as the irrepressible Harcourt Fenton Mudd on the original Star Trek series. Rumor had it Carmel was slated to reprise his role as Harry Mudd in a first-season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but died before filming could commence.
David Reddish
Correct Mac. And that rumor is true.
johncp56
Robbin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yum
radiooutmike
When I was a kid in the early 70s watching Batman on TV, any mention of Bat Thermal Underwear or having the Caped Crusaders bound in any way left me tingly down there.
Troyfight
@johncp56 evidently Robin actor, Burt Ward, had a huge, huge bulge. And when he was caught by a villian in some episode, & getting stretched out, they had to do retakes to cover his bulge. A high quality problem! haha
JeffBaker
I was about six when this premiered! I think I had my first stirrings of bisexuality watching Burt Ward in that skimpy Robin outfit!
JeffBaker
A couple of decades ago, the Batman comics revived King Tut; this time a skinny, homicidal guy. In a nod to Victor Bueno, the character’s real last name was “Goodman.”